Fears for safety grow as €5m fund for ghost estates untapped

RESIDENTS of ghost estates are living in fear of accidents among the debris of unfinished homes while a fund set up for urgent repair and safety works goes largely untapped.

Just €400,000 of the €5 million local government fund — 8% of the money available — has been spent on completing footpaths, installing street lights, covering holes, fencing off open sites and dealing with “immediate safety issues” as was the intention of the scheme.

A further €1.4m has been earmarked for proposed repair works but many of those have yet to be started. The fund was set up in February and the works were meant to be completed before this summer.